Leon Herbert Movies

Actor Leon Herbert made his debut as a writer and director with this independent comedy drama. John (Wil Johnson) is a tailor who likes his work and is happy with his girlfriend Mary (Daniela Lavender) -- enough so that he asks her to marry him; however, Mary not only declines the offer but decides it's time to split up and spend some time working on her own emotional issues. Eager to win her back, John turns to his best friend Steve (Leon Herbert) for advice. Steve, an actor who has been rehearsing a role in Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew, takes an aggressive view of the situation and recommends a strategy not unlike his take-no-prisoners approach to backgammon. Meanwhile, Mary also confers with a friend, Jane (Jacqueline de Peza), whose attitude towards men is not especially charitable. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

The starring cast of the hit A Fish Called Wanda reunited for this farcical comedy, which star and co-screenwriter John Cleese described as "not a sequel, but an equal." When London's Marwood Zoo is purchased by Octopus, Inc., the multi-national holding company run by New Zealand publishing tycoon Rod McCain (Kevin Kline), the staff is given a firm order: if the zoo is not turning at least a 20% profit soon, it will be shut down. Willa Weston (Jamie Lee Curtis), who was recently hired by McCain to oversee another firm that bit the dust, is assigned to keep a watchful eye over zoo director Rollo Lee (Cleese), who gets the idea that since people seem to enjoy aggressive, violent entertainment at the movies, the zoo should round up and execute all the cute, benign animals and replace them with more vicious specimens to boost attendance. Needless to say, talkative zookeeper Adrian "Bugsy" Malone (Michael Palin) is appalled at this suggestion and attempts to disguise the more timid beasts with fake fangs and daubings of artificial blood. Meanwhile, Rod and his son Vince (also played by Kevin Kline) want the animal displays to be more spectacular, and they hope to boost income by introducing corporate sponsorship with logos pasted on the cages, the staff uniforms, and even the animals themselves. An already complex situation is further tangled by the efforts of Vince, Rod, and Rolo to seduce Willa, whose obsession with the bottom line is compromised by her fondness for the gorillas. Fierce Creatures was originally shot in 1995, but when the original version tested poorly, producers John Cleese and Michael Shamberg opted to reshoot part of the film (most notably the ending), with director Fred Schepisi replacing Robert Young for the revised sequences. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Crash landing on a barren penal-colony planet with an unwelcomed visitor in tow, Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) contends with a group of hardened convicts while using nothing but her wits to battle a terrifying new breed of alien. The sole survivor of her crashed escape pod, Ripley is rescued from the craft by the remaining inhabitants of Fiorina 161, a group of rapists and murders who chose to repent for their sins in deep space after the penal colony was officially decommissioned. When remaining warden Andrews (Brian Glover) announces Ripley's presence to the inmates, their spiritual leader, Dillon (Charles S. Dutton), begins to fear that her presence will stir up trouble. As a result, Ripley is placed in the care of prison doctor Clemens (Charles Dance), and restricted to the infirmary until a rescue ship arrives. But Ripley isn't the only new visitor on Fiorina 161; an alien stowaway survived the crash as well, and it has planted its seed in a feral dog. Before long, a new breed of alien has burst from the dog's chest, a stealthy hunter that moves on all fours and can navigate the darkened prison corridors virtually undetected. When the inmates start to disappear, the remaining survivors must fight for their lives without weapons to defend themselves. The only person who knows the alien well enough to beat it is Ripley, and while her plan to corner and kill the creature just might work, a horrifying discovery reveals that her fight is far from over. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Behind the black cowl, Gotham City superhero Batman is really millionaire philanthropist Bruce Wayne (Michael Keaton), who turned to crimefighting after his parents were brutally murdered before his eyes. The only person to share Wayne's secret is faithful butler Alfred (Michael Gough). The principal villain in Batman is The Joker (Jack Nicholson) who'd been mob torpedo Jack Napier before he was horribly disfigured in a vat of acid. The Joker's plan to destroy Batman and gain control of Gotham City is manifold. First he distributes a line of booby-trapped cosmetics, then he goes on a destruction spree in the Gotham Art Museum while the music of Prince blasts away in the background, and finally he orchestrates an all-out campaign to win the hearts and minds of the Gothamites, hoping to turn them against the Cowled One. Meanwhile, reporter Vicki Vale (Kim Basinger) becomes the love of Batman's life-which of course plays right into the Joker's hands. Photographed by Roger Pratt, designed by Anton Furst, and scored by Tim Burton's favorite composer Danny Elfman, Batman was a monstrous box-office hit, making $100 million in the first ten days of release--$82,800,000 in North America alone. Incidentally, Billy Dee Williams' comparatively small role as DA Harvey Dent was originally designed to set up the sequel, wherein Dent was to convert into master criminal Two-Face; but by the time the producers got around to that character in 1995's Batman Forever, Two-Face was played by Tommy Lee Jones. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Ken Russell's adaptation of Oscar Wilde's Salome, Salome's Last Dance takes the form of a play within a film. Wilde (Nickolas Grace) arrives at a brothel with his lover, Bosey (aka Lord Alfred Douglas played by Douglas Hodge), where the proprietor, Alfred (Stratford Johns), has gathered his staff and assorted other colorful characters to mount a simple production of Wilde's new play. And so, with Alfred playing Herod, and Bosey playing John the Baptist, and with Wilde himself looking on with varying degrees of interest, the play is performed. Salome (Imogen Millais-Scott) is the daughter of Herodias (Glenda Jackson), who has abandoned her husband, since murdered, for his brother, Herod. Herod has an eye for Salome, but she mocks his interest. One evening, she hears the ranting of John the Baptist, who is Herod's prisoner, and demands that he be brought before her. She is very taken with the prophet, and attempts to seduce him while the captain of the guards, who is smitten with her, looks on. The young captain kills himself, and the prophet spurns her and is beaten. Still, she insists that she will kiss him, as he is brought away. Salome manipulates the horny Herod, who promises her anything if she will dance for him. She agrees, against the wishes of Herodias. While she performs, Wilde slips off with a young male performer, arousing Bosey's jealousy. After Salome's erotic dance (at the end of which she momentarily changes sexes), she confounds Herod by demanding the prophet's head. Russell himself has a small role in the film, as a photographer of ill repute. ~ Josh Ralske, All Movie Guide